Homeworld Games
When you think of any epic space RTS game series first image that comes into your head is the picture of Mothership from Homeworld games. Epic is actually a small word for this scale of space RTS game. This is Relic Entertainment flagship series among other great games like Company of Heroes and Dawn of War series. Games that will make you enjoy the space and satisfy your inner fantasy to become a space fleet admiral. Take a look why Homeworld series is so great.
Homeworld
First Homeworld game is released in 1999 and at the time this was the game to try your new hardware on. It was not just an eye candy, it had an epic interstellar story about the race of people in a desperate need to change a planet and try to find a new one in a vastness of space. As people of Kushan from desert planet of Kharak learned about Hiigara, their ancient homeworld, Taiidan Empire attacked them because of some ancient contract between the two people they didn't know about forbidding them the use of hyperspace travel. Gameplay is comprised from classical RTS gathering resources, building a fleet and destroying your enemies. Battle was full 3D and range, depth, fighters, bombers all had an effect in rock, paper scissors gameplay.
Homeworld 2
Sequel was released in 2003. and was even greater piece of software than the first game. People of Kushan are now called Hiigarans and their new enemy the Vajgr started attacking their new Homeworld. Hiigarans discovered in order to break the blockade on their planet they would need to find old hyperspace core from the extinct race of Progenitors. Epic story continues from the first game and it one of the best ones I had a chance to experience. Gameplay vise game had more space ships of different classes and sizes, from small Fighters, Corvettes, Frigates to slow but powerful Capital Ships. Seeing all those ships in action is what makes this game one of the best RTS's ever.
Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak
This latest game in the series was released in 2016. by Blackbird Interactive since THQ went down and sold the rights of the franchise to Gearbox Software publishing company. Even though this prequel is not played in space, it still holds as a Homeworld game, specially because it is a story about how Kushan people relearned the history of their race and began their space journey to their distant Homeworld of Hiigara. Before all that happens this game will offer a new perspective how it all came to be. Very interesting for any fan of this franchise. So the best way of playing this series would be to start with this game, after that Homeworld 1 then Homeworld 2. It is a mess, a mess worth exploring.
The only thing I disliked on Homeworld that you had to rebuild your small crafts you would lose and re-assigning them to the hotkeys. I wish there was a button "rebuild to last fleet setup".
1999 it was? Still a good graphic.
No wonder why the game was so popular at the time. People like good graphics. One of the key elements when playing RTS is the micromanagement, shift click new units into your old formation is not big of a deal. Even though that might be a good idea for RTS game I don't remember any game ever had that feature. Rebuild to your last group, as I'm understanding you.
I think you're missing out on the extended replay through the mods available for the Homeworld series. I also think you forgot to mention the remastered-re-release they did for the series, too.
I would like to believe that the COMPLEX mod tries to solve some of the micromanagement issues. This game lives on through the mod development done by the community behind it.
Remastered versions of Homeworld from Gearbox are very high on my to do list :)